…Tares, Pharisees, Sadducees and other “workers of evil”
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
I am so very, very concerned for you. Have you ever considered the possibility that YOU yourself will be turned-away by Jesus when you meet Him? Will Jesus say to you, “One thing you lack“, or, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me…’ (Matthew 7:23)?
WHAT!? …I might be lacking something?
Yes: You. Could you be lacking somehow, right now, before God Almighty?
With all those years thinking you are just fine with God: Do you have beliefs with which Jesus would not agree? Are you holding-back on examining those?
Are there issues you are adamant about, those few pet peeves of yours, that perhaps are actually … putting you in the realm of “living in sin“?
The “not-truly-saved”
Have you made decisions to accept sin in your life…what God calls sin?
See: Accepting What God Rejects
The “not-so-truly-saved”…
… sinners… have made decisions to accept sin in their life. Whatever the sin may be (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) the “not-truly-saved” person has accepted a normalcy which reveals their true heart.
Their “normalcy” is contrary to God’s normal. Whether a church-going person or not, no matter what their confession of faith — their “faith” cannot save them because their deeds betray their true allegiance. And it isn’t an allegiance to truly follow Christ!
– Source: Sinners, versus living in sin
See: Being a Sinner | Accepting What God Rejects | When a sinner repents | The Gift by His Precious, Undeserved Grace | The one-off offer Jesus makes to everyone
The truly redeemed
The truly redeemed… do not embrace sin as a normal practice in their lives. True believers reject sin, not claim it as God’s will for them.” – Source: biblegateway.com
“It is no small thing to be concurring with the Devil. In these end times — be careful with whom you concur.”
His winnowing fork
is in His hand
to thoroughly clear
His threshing floor,
and to gather the wheat
into His barn;
but He will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.”
– Luke 3:17 (John 15:6)
Jesus Himself will separate the wheat from the chaff. The conquering Master of the Universe will
* group the goats (Matthew 25:31-46) who did not live for Him, and separate them from
* the sheep who truly followed their Shepherd.
– Source: Conflicts Because of Opinion.
You might have thought you “accepted Christ” way back years ago. But maybe you were like the rich young ruler to whom Jesus said, “One thing you lack.”
Jesus wasn’t physically there to warn you like He did the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21). You may have missed His “still small voice”. Maybe your sensitive heart has gone to roost with sinners and their ways, as “birds of a feather roosting together”.
This is not optional
We must be born again. Jesus Himself said that in John 3:4-7. It is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. God demands we give Him our all: Deuteronomy 10:12-22….
Without Jesus’
supernatural forgiveness
there is no hope.
Just be loving
You cannot just be loving and nice and good to others… and expect a warm welcome into the Kingdom of this incomparable Holy God. You will stand before His justice, not yours.
– Source: The world of illusion of some churchgoers.
Rejected as counterfeit?
That is why Paul said,
2 Corinthians 13:5
Test and evaluate yourselves
to see whether you are
in the faith and living your lives
as [committed] believers.
Examine yourselves [not me]!
Or do you not recognize this
about yourselves
[by an ongoing experience]
that Jesus Christ is in you
—unless indeed you fail
the test
and are rejected
as counterfeit?
Jesus’ words and teachings
Do you think you are 100% sold-out to Jesus, sure as sure can be that Jesus is 100% with you – that He has your back? We’re not talkin’ about you being 100% sinless. THAT is not necessary for salvation. After all, Jesus died about our sins. But your heart is your own. We must submit 100% of our heart to Him. THAT is what the salvation from Jesus requires.
When will you consider this moment the proper moment to get out of yourself, and get into Jesus‘ own words and teachings – so deeply into Jesus, in fact… that you will allow what He said to guide you into believing His Way – above your way?
Or are your ways just too, too personal, too ingrained after so many years of developing your positions on things? The question put to all of us by Jesus, now (before He takes us off planet earth…), is:
Are you willing to give up
any worldview,
any way of life,
any personal practice,
any pet peeve,
any stance at all of yours…
if He shows you it is “not of Him”?
allow what He said
to guide you
into believing His Way
– above your way
That ‘out of this world‘ crazy moment
I’m imagining that ‘out of this world’ wild and crazy crazy moment when of a sudden I am personally face to face with God in His Kingdom. Wow wow wow!
I imagine that, and I am so very deeply wanting to NOT be coming to that place, His place, with my own philosophies and any unbiblical beliefs.
Excerpt from: One thing you lack
What happens is that common folks and not-so-common folks, “in their wickedness, suppress and stifle the truth” (v18).
In the midst of their rebelliousness – men and women of clay shake their puny little mud hands at the Potter.
In their limited thinking, they “suppress and stifle the truth”.
Paul explains further:
* “…they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations],
* and their foolish heart was darkened.
* 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God for an image [worthless idols] in the shape of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.” – Verses 21b-23 of Romans 1:18-32
Source: One thing you lack
His instant insight into the depths of my heart
When He reads my mind (Psalm 139) with His instant insight into the depths of my heart… will He judge me: faithful and true to Him?
Imagine that
crazy crazy moment
– face to face
with God Almighty
Excerpt from Faithful and true
If you are not now “faithful and true” to Christ, turn to Him today. God is asking you to repent. Come to Jesus. See: 2 Timothy 3: verses 14-17
I live to be faithful and true every moment of every day, so I am ready when He returns. His Kingdom is that special to me.
I’m producing the fruit of His Spirit more and more. How about you?
– Source: Faithful and true
The dangers of sticking to our own beliefs and preferences
Maybe there’s a crack in your heart (Psalm 139:23-24 – “wicked or hurtful way in me“); “anything you find in me that makes you sad” – Living Bible. Paul, the writer of much of the Gospel of Jesus, points to a truth that helps us see the dangers of stubbornly keeping to our own well-entrenched beliefs and deeply held personal preferences:
Paul says they may actually be idols! That true of you?
Excerpt from Tempting God:
God’s patience is being tested if we replace Him with idols, “loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul” (verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 10:9-14).
14 …idolatry
[and that includes
loving anything more than God,
or
participating in anything
that leads to sin
and enslaves the soul]
– Verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 10:9-14
“To support those who support vileness –
is as vile before God
as the vileness itself.
But oh, how sweetly
we convince ourselves otherwise.”
– Excerpt from: Accepting What God Rejects
Those who turn away from God… in Deuteronomy 29:14-21:
What they are like, what they have:
-
- their “heart turns away… from the Lord our God” (v18)
- they… “go and serve the [false] gods of these nations” (v18)
- they have “a root [of idolatry] bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood (bitterness)” (v18)
- “he [a]imagines himself as blessed, saying, ‘I will have peace and safety even though I walk within the stubbornness of my heart [rejecting God and His law] (v19)
– Deuteronomy 29:14-21
- their “heart turns away… from the Lord our God” (v18)
BIBLEGATEWAY FOOTNOTE [a]: the renegade imagines that the agreement is one-sided, requiring God to bless him no matter what he does.
– Source: Turning away from God
“the Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him; the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.”
will He judge me:
faithful and true
to Him?
Jesus stated very clearly what salvation is all about. He did not hold back His Truth.
Break away from the world
Jesus totally broke-from the world:
He was NOT politically correct.
He was NOT in-step with the religious leaders of His day.
He was NOT aligned with ungodly political powers.
He did not agree with and support any sin
He was not empowered by vanity and pride
Are you more and more like Jesus? Have you truly “broken-away-from” the world, from evil political ideologies, from the merely religious?
Do you claim to “have it all together” with Jesus? Not sinless – but 100% following Jesus from the heart?
What Jesus will say to Renegades (vs19)
Some who claim to be Christians (“little copies of Jesus”) will come before Jesus on that day and say, like:
I’ve done everything right.
“What else do I need to do to inherit your eternal life and blessings?”
Others will boast, “I have lived for you.”
I’ve been in the church almost all my life.
“I have prophesied in your name.
I’ve exorcised demons in your name.
I’ve even done miracles in Your name.”
Jesus will say to these types:
Matthew 7:23
And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’
Luke 13:27
but He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers!’
Do you imagine yourself as blessed? – Deuteronomy 29:14-21
“19 It will happen that when he (a renegade) hears the words of this oath, and he [a]imagines himself as blessed, saying, ‘I will have peace and safety even though I walk within the stubbornness of my heart [rejecting God and His law], in order that the watered land dwindles away along with the dry [destroying everything],’ 20 the Lord will not be willing to forgive him” (vs19)
GateWay Footnote a: “the renegade imagines that the agreement is one-sided, requiring God to bless him no matter what he does.“
Other “workers of evil”…evildoers
So, who are others of this type, as in “not saved”, as Jesus defined them, “evildoers” (not a word of “Welcome…”)?
Evil in God’s sight
It’s so easy to be evil in God’s sight. Is it possible that you are actually “evil in God’s sight”? Are you somehow holding-back?
Maybe there is a crack, just a tiny fissure, in your heart, where you’ve allowed something in that is not right with God? And you are now following an idol of your own making? Or you have become “apostate”?
The road to salvation is not an easy road. That’s the reason for 2 Corinthians 13:5.
“small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.” – Verse 14 of Matthew 7:13-14
To be evil is so easy.
To be evil is to:
* never be born again as Jesus requires (just go on your merry way)
* never “take-on” the color of Jesus – never “believe” in the name of Jesus (in the Greek sense)
* be holding back, not be genuine – fail the sincerity and truth barrier
* be opposed to True God
* contradict Jesus – teach contrary to God’s Word
* follow a Jesus who was not God
* hold to a worldview contrary to Jesus’ worldview
See: Worldviews and the battle for meaning
* voting to follow the world – and be against Jesus’ Way
See: Voting while set on God’s will, His values and His purposes
* be less than 100% given-over to Jesus
* practice sin (as if it were good and proper)
See: Sinners versus living in sin
* be into outward religion …Outward religion but inward… everything unclean
* saying no to Jesus – a dead faith with dead works
* loving Jesus less
* merely liking Jesus
* have the chutzpah to remain a Wannabe Christian
* not be afraid of going to hell
* turn away from God
* kneel before anything or anyone other than Jesus
* accept the Mark of the Beast (in allegiance against Jesus)
* become Apostate… follow “another gospel”
See: There is no other saving Gospel
* be a false prophet or false teacher – say your words are from God
* speak forth your own words as from God – say “they are from God”
See: They in fact have seen nothing
The Way of the One Way Jesus…
Simply put: if you follow even only one of your own ways instead of following the Way of the One Way Jesus — then you “fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5), you are lost and still need Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14). Even if you lack just one thing!
Not saved in the first place
I am convinced that many were not genuinely saved at that moment when they thought they surrendered to Jesus. We do not have Jesus walking on earth to confront us like He did the rich young ruler. Although, even better — now all on earth have the Spirit of God at work convicting of sin.
Streaming from my soul
Look inside your insides. See your real belief system. You may be lacking.
I live to be faithful
and true
every moment
of every day,
so I am ready
when He returns.
His Kingdom
is that special to me.
Get born again – for real!
allow what He said
to guide you
into believing His Way
– above your way
We can be forever free
from His condemnation.
That only happens
through believing in the name of Jesus
and accepting His forgiveness
in sincerity and truth.
Have you been born again,
set free from sin?
– Source: Turning away from God
I am so very, very concerned.
FOR MORE:
Accepting What God Rejects Excerpt:
Christ knew how difficult it would be for me to have love. In my Christian culture it is not “so bad” these days to merely have “…enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions… envying… and things like these”. But I know, of course, that those other “really bad” things really are wrong, like “… immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, [heresies]… drunkenness, carousing, and things like these…”
Ha!! (I’m being sarcastic.) But God does not grade sin “on a curve”. He equates them all as “really bad” things.
God Himself declares that “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”.
It is fairly obvious even with the laws of man, that if a person supports a thief (“to aid and abet”), he is as guilty as the actual thief, and condemned under the law. The cardinal who leaves the known pedophile priest in ministry, is as vile as the pedophile himself. To support those who support vileness – is as vile before God as the vileness itself. But oh, how sweetly we convince ourselves otherwise.
– Excerpt from: Accepting What God Rejects
About staying true & faithful to Jesus
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Practicing sin, not following Christ
Know that you know that you know
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
About Being Apostate… following “another gospel”
Is Jesus’ worldview your worldview?
Worldviews and the Battle for Meaning
Voting Dichotomously. – This article is written in the context of the article: Exposing a dichotomous heart
Are you one of the 18 percenters?
Voting while set on God’s will, His values and His purposes
Practicing Sin, Not Following Christ
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